Hard protective pad for pants

ABSTRACT

A hard protective pad for pants includes a support plate made of a rigid material. The support plate includes two spaced-apart concave portions extending inwardly from a top surface of the support plate and configured to match the shape of the buttocks of a user, and a fixing portion between the concave portions. The fixing portion extends arcuately inwardly from a bottom surface of the support plate and configured to match the shape of a bicycle seat.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No.104205137, filed on Apr. 7, 2015.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a protective pad, more particularly to a hardprotective pad for pants.

BACKGROUND

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional protective pad for cycling pants 10is typically made of a multi-layered soft material, and is sewn to aninner side of the cycling pants 10. The protective pad 1 includes aplurality of buffer blocks 11 formed on a top surface thereof. Thereason for using the soft material in manufacturing this type ofprotective pad 1 is mainly to avoid constant rubbing of the thighs andbuttocks against a bicycle seat that cause discomfort while riding thebicycle. However, the protective pad 1 becomes slippery because ofperspiration, so that it cannot provide a stable support. Further,because the protective pad 1 is made of the soft material, when in along distance riding, the protective pad 1 is prone to collapse anddeform, so that the rider is likely to suffer pain in the buttocksbecause of the uneven stress and inadequate support of the protectivepad 1. Hence, there is need for improvement of the protective pad 1.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of this disclosure is to provide a hard protectivepad for pants that is capable of overcoming at least one of theaforesaid drawbacks of the prior art.

According to this disclosure, a hard protective pad for pants comprisesa support plate made of a rigid material. The support plate includes twospaced-apart concave portions extending inwardly from a top surface ofthe support plate and configured to match the shape of the buttocks of auser, and a fixing portion between the concave portions. The fixingportion extends arcuately inwardly from a bottom surface of the supportplate and configured to match the shape of a bicycle seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent inthe following detailed description of the embodiments with reference tothe accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional protective pad forcycling pants;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of a hardprotective pad according to the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view for illustrating the first embodiment beingconnected to the pants;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first embodiment in a state of use;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of a hardprotective pad according to the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the second embodiment in a state of use;

FIG. 8 is schematic side view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but illustrating upper and lowerplate layers being made of different materials; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view, illustrating the third embodiment of a hardprotective pad according to the disclosure being connected to the pants.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present invention is described in greater detail withreference to the accompanying embodiments, it should be noted hereinthat like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughoutthe disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the first embodiment of a hard protective pad100 according to the disclosure is configured to be connected to thepants 8 which is exemplified herein as cycling pants having alongitudinal center line (L) . The hard protective pad 100 comprises asupport plate 2, a plurality of spaced-apart breathable holes 3, and twocushion members 4.

The support plate 2 is made of a rigid material, and includes twospaced-apart concave portions 211 and a fixing portion 22 between theconcave portions 211. The concave portions 211 extend inwardly from atop surface of the support plate 2, are configured to be located on twoopposite sides of the center line (L), and are configured to match theshape of the buttocks 9 of the user. The fixing portion 22 extendsarcuately inwardly from a bottom surface of the support plate 2 and isconfigured to match the shape of a bicycle seat 7. The concave portions211 can be custom-made according to a body shape of an individual. Forexample, a mold corresponding to the shape of a user's buttocks is firstprepared, after which the concave portions 211 are made according tothat mold.

The aforementioned rigid material is hard plastic selected from thegroup consisting of polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate, polystyrene,polypropylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer andstyrene-acrylonitrile copolymer.

The breathable holes 3 extend through the top and bottom surfaces of thesupport plate 2.

The cushion members 4 are respectively disposed in the concave portions211 for preventing direct contact friction between the user's buttocksand the support plate 2 which may cause discomfort to the user. Each ofthe cushion members 4 is made of a breathable material selected from thegroup consisting of a breathable fiber material (non-woven fabric,cotton, etc.) and a netted porous material [polyurethane (PU) foamresin, water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion resin, etc.].

The hard protective pad 100 of this disclosure can be directly connectedto an outer side of the pants 8 using a hook-and-loop fastener, anadhesive glue, a sewing method, or any other suitable connecting method.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, when the user rides a bicycle, thefixing portion 22 can be stably fitted to the bicycle seat 7. Further,because the concave portions 211 matchingly correspond to the shape ofthe buttocks 9 of the user, they can evenly share the stress and supportthe buttocks 9, and will not easily collapse and deform to causediscomfort to the buttocks 9 of the user even in a long ride. Moreover,heat and sweat generated during riding can be expelled through thecushion members 4 and the breathable holes 3. Hence, through thepresence of the hard protective pad 100 on the pants 8 of the user,comfort during a long distance riding can be enhanced.

It is worth to mention herein that the user can also sit on a chair (notshown) when wearing the pants 8 with the hard protective pad 100 of thisdisclosure, so that the buttocks 9 of the user can be prevented fromlong direct contact with a planar seat surface of the chair which cancause discomfort to the buttocks 9.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the second embodiment of the hard protectivepad 100′ according to this disclosure is shown to be generally identicalto the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the support plate2 further includes an intermediate layer 5 dividing the support plate 2into an upper plate layer 25 having the concave portions 211 and a lowerplate layer 26 having the fixing portion 22. In this embodiment, theupper and lower plate layers 25, 26 have the same material. In analternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the upper and lower platelayers 25, 26 may have different materials.

The intermediate layer 5 is sandwiched between the upper and lower platelayers 25, 26, and is made of a buffering material. The intermediatelayer 5 is formed with a plurality of intersecting grooves 51 eachhaving two opposite ends communicating with an external atmosphere. Thebuffering material is selected from the group consisting of foam andrubber. Because the intermediate layer 5 can provide buffering andshock-absorbing effects, use of the hard protective pad 100′ of thisembodiment can further enhance the user's comfort during riding.

The breathable holes 3 are in direct communication with the grooves 51of the intermediate layer 5, so that heat and sweat generated duringriding can be directly expelled to the external atmosphere through thegrooves 51, thereby increasing the overall breathability.

In this embodiment, the support plate 2 further includes an extensionportion 23 extending outwardly and forwardly from a front centralportion of the support plate 2. The extension portion 23 has acrotch-shaped concave section 24 extending inwardly from a top surfaceof the extension portion 23 for supporting a crotch portion of the user.

Hence, in addition to the advantages described in the first embodiment,the second embodiment can also support the crotch portion of the userthrough the crotch-shaped concave section 24 of the extension portion 23and achieve the buffering and shock-absorbing effects through thepresence of the intermediate layer 5.

Referring to FIG. 10, the third embodiment of the hard protective pad100″ according to this disclosure is shown to be generally identical tothe first embodiment, and differs in that the support plate 2 isconstructed from a plurality of substantially parallel spaced-apartstrips 20. The strips 20 are configured to extend along a directiontransverse to the center line (L) of the pants 8. For the strips 20 tohave sufficient supporting forces, the strips 20 are not formed with thebreathable holes 3 (see FIG. 2).

The support plate 2 can be made first, after which it is cut into aplurality of the strips 20. Finally, the strips 20 are sequentiallyconnected to the pants 8. It is worth to mention herein that the strips20 may first be connected to a soft material, such as a cloth (notshown), in sequence to form the support plate 2 of the third embodiment,after which the support plate 2 is connected to the pants 8.

Because the strips 20 connected to the pants 8 have the structure of thesupport plate 2 which includes the concave portions 211 (see FIG. 4) andthe fixing portion 22 (see FIG. 4), and are also made of the rigidmaterials, the third embodiment can similarly achieve the advantagesdescribed in the first embodiment. It should be noted that each of thestrips 20 may be further provided with the intermediate layer 5 (seeFIG. 7) as described in the second embodiment, so that the strips 20 mayhave a buffering function.

The third embodiment not only can achieve the advantages described inthe first embodiment, but also has disclosed a modification of thesupport plate 2. Because the support plate 2 is cut along the directiontransverse to the center line (L) to form into a plurality of the strips20, the user in action can enjoy a high degree of freedom when wearingthe pants 8 connected with the strips 20, and heat and sweat generatedduring riding can be directly expelled through clearances among thestrips 20. Hence, an overall breathability is achieved.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what areconsidered the most practical embodiments, it is understood that thisdisclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intendedto cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope ofthe broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modificationsand equivalent arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hard protective pad for pants, comprising: asupport plate made of a rigid material and including two spaced-apartconcave portions extending inwardly from a top surface of said supportplate and configured to match the shape of the buttocks of a user, and afixing portion between said concave portions, said fixing portionextending arcuately inwardly from a bottom surface of said support plateand configured to match the shape of a bicycle seat.
 2. The hardprotective pad as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality ofspaced-apart breathable holes extending through said top and bottomsurfaces of said support plate.
 3. The hard protective pad as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising two cushion members respectively disposed onsaid concave portions.
 4. The hard protective pad as claimed in claim 1,wherein said support plate further includes an intermediate layerdividing said support plate into an upper plate layer having saidconcave portions, and a lower plate layer having said fixing portion,said intermediate layer being sandwiched between said upper and lowerplate layers and being made of a buffering material.
 5. The hardprotective pad as claimed in claim 4, wherein said intermediate layer isformed with a plurality of intersecting grooves.
 6. The hard protectivepad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support plate further includesan extension portion extending outwardly and forwardly from a frontcentral portion of said support plate, said extension portion having acrotch-shaped concave section extending inwardly from a top surface ofsaid extension portion for supporting a crotch portion of the user. 7.The hard protective pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supportplate is constructed from a plurality of substantially parallelspaced-apart strips, said strips being configured to extend along adirection transverse to a longitudinal center line of the pants.
 8. Thehard protective pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hard protectivepad is configured to be sewn onto the pants.
 9. The hard-type hardprotective pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hard protective padis configured to be connected to the pants using a hook-and-loopfastener.
 10. The hard protective pad as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid hard protective pad is configured to be connected to the pantsusing an adhesive glue.
 11. The hard protective pad as claimed in claim1, wherein said rigid material is hard plastic selected from the groupconsisting of polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate, polystyrene,polypropylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer andstyrene-acrylonitrile copolymer.
 12. The hard protective pad as claimedin claim 3, wherein each of said cushion members is made of a breathablematerial selected from the group consisting of a breathable fibermaterial and a netted porous material.
 13. The hard protective pad asclaimed in claim 4, wherein said buffering material is selected from thegroup consisting of foam and rubber.